killerinstinctfandomcom-20200223-history
Shadow Lords
Shadow Lords is a game mode in'' Killer Instinct (2013)'' that was introduced in Season 3. It was first leaked on shoryuken.com, and later fully revealed at E3 2016. A sequel to last season's Rivals Mode, this mode revolves around the characters of the Killer Instinct universe banding together in order to weaken Gargos enough to finish him off and save the world. Overview Unlike the previous modes, Shadow Lords is part-ladder, part-arcade, part-story, and part-roguelike, all rolled up into one unique experience in which: * Your ultimate goal is to beat Gargos and his forces before he takes over the world. How fast that happens is completely up to how you play! * Choose any character to “main” and assemble your team from across the entire roster of KI characters. Uneasy alliances abound! * As characters are added to the game after launch, they’ll also come with new Shadow Lords content. * Lots of stuff to earn and craft in this mode, all of which can be obtained by playing. KI Gold will allow you to accelerate to get to some rarer stuff sooner to help in your fight against Gargos and his minions. * Battle against Mimics, Shadows and Omens in order to weaken Gargos' influence and strengthen your own. * The game features persistent items and elements that carry across multiple playthroughs. * The new multiplayer mode was seen in the launch trailer will tie into this mode and some of the things you can craft. Gameplay Team Formations A "Shadow Lords Team" consists of three characters selected by the player, with the first character chosen (the "Primary") functioning as the "Team Captain". However, some characters will refuse to team up with others until specific Story Missions have been completed. Shadow Lords's storyline can therefore take many different turns depending on which character the player has chosen as his or her "Primary". Choosing a varied team (i.e. creating a team of characters that lore-wise have difficult relationships with each other) will unlock special options during missions. Difficulty Settings Shadow Lords features three difficulty settings: "Normal", "Challenging", and "God-like". The higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards. Mimics Gargos' Mimics evolve in ways that enhance their natural abilities. Power Level 1 Mimics are imperfect clones, and have reduced health and damage. However, as Gargos' influence grows, so does the strength of his Mimics. A Power Level 5 Mimic is an extremely powerful foe that should be approached with caution. Guardians Guardians are powerful equips that are obtained by purchasing specific Packs from the Emporium. They grant additional Skills and boost your Attack and Defense. Each Guardian has five Charges, and being taken on a Mission will drain one. These can be restored by feeding them Astral Energy, a Common-level reward. Astral Energy can also be obtained by Transmuting unneeded Guardians. Like loot, Guardians are randomly generated and their effectiveness varies. Commons are weak and used only for their base Skill, while Killers boast powerful Attack and Defense increases in addition to superior Skill. There are also "Perfect" Killer-level Guardians, whose Skill and boosts are the highest they can possibly be. Perfect Guardians are noted with a rainbow KI logo. Guardians are identified by the Skill they grant. Six are currently available and more are coming soon. *'Ram': Defense type. Grants ability to break any combo after taking 235 damage. *'Vampire Bat': Damage type. Returns damage dealt to opponent as Health, Shadow, or Instinct meter. *'Fractured Ward': Offensive Type. Grants Stacks of Super Armor over time, which are automatically applied and will be used up when receiving any unblocked attack. Doesn't negate or reduce damage. *'Snake': Damage Type. Delays opponent's regen time by 5.0 seconds. *'Exemplar': Defense type. Grants the ability to parry attacks. Successfully doing so rewards Health, Shadow, & Instinct meter, in addition to being able to Punish. The match starts with maximum Stacks, each parry uses a Stack, and Stacks regenerate over time. The maximum number of Stacks and the time it takes to regenerate them varies. *'Watcher': Defense type. Grants the ability to break enemy attacks while blocking. *'Tiger': Coming Soon. *'8th Guardian': Coming Soon. *'9th Guardian': Coming Soon. According to dossiers in Shadow Lords, Kim Wu's dragon spirit Yeouiju is also a Guardian, although he is directly linked to Kim's family. Cutscenes transcripts Shadow Lords Story Introduction (first playthrough) There is another dimension - the Astral Plane. It is ruled by the evil tyrant Gargos. Long ago the other Astral beings resisted this Shadow Lord, but he slew them all and stole their powers. Good creatures known as Guardians fled from Gargos and his minions, escaping to other dimensions, and sealed the Astral Plane behind them so that the corruption of Gargos could never taint another world... until the sorcerer Kan-Ra reopened that door, manipulated by Gargos' powerful mind control. Now Gargos is invading the Earth with his army of duplicate fighters, Mimics. This twisted demigod must be stopped, or he will enslave the human race forever... Meanwhile, in San Francisco's Chinatown, the kung fu master Kim Wu has inherited one of the last free Astral beings, the Dragon Spirit. Gargos will stop at nothing to take it from her. The warrior-monk Jago is no stranger to the treacheries of Gargos. He comes from an Alliance of Killer Instinct tournament and Ultratech fighters and asks Kim to join their war against the merciless Shadow Lord. An Astral portal opens, spewing forth a demon of Gargos sent to eliminate Kim Wu and Jago. After the first battle against Omen After the demon's defeat, a mysterious power draws Jago to the portal. He enters, and then vanishes. Arriving in the Astral Plane, he is dropped at the feet of Gargos. "Why do you aid these pitiful Earth beings, Jago? It is time for you to join your brothers by my side, and together we can rule this universe for eternity!" But Jago will never again bow to the hated Gargos. After the first battle against Gargos Jago thinks he has defeated his nemesis, but he has been tricked. Gargos was merely toying with him, and the Shadow Lord reveals his new and even more powerful self. Jago summons all of his remaining energy for a final desperate attack, but the Shadow Lord is too powerful, and Jago is blasted back through the portal, scattering his energy across the globe. A Mimic Kim Wu emerges from the portal along with Jago. Kim must destroy her copied self or die. Kim has defeated her Mimic, and it drops Astral items. She is approached by the nefarious sorcerer Kan-Ra, a wielder of ancient magics, who tells her that the Killer Instinct fighters need her help to build a weapon capable of defeating Gargos. He teleports Kim and Jago to his lair, avoiding the wrath of Gargos for now. "Welcome, Miss Wu. I have brought you to my Emporium out of necessity. Jago is dying. Give me the items dropped by that Mimic, and I will give you a relic to heal him. Quickly! There is no more time... Jago's spirit is almost gone." Introduction (from second playthrough on) ARIA explains that the arrival of Gargos is imminent. As his Corruption spreads, the barrier between worlds weakens, allowing his Omens to reach Earth and secure the gateways for his arrival. ARIA tells you to work with Kan-Ra to track down powerful items and Guardians to make yourself stronger. These will help aid you in your battles against Mimics and, ultimately, the Shadow Lord. You must defeat him, or the Earth will be destroyed! Remember to make yourself stronger! Gargos will arrive no matter what you do, but you can prepare yourself for his arrival! Before fighting an Omen Gargos draws his god-like power from the Astral Plane, but outside of his realm he is mortal. The spread of corruption transforms the Earth to feed Gargos' power - as this corruption spreads, so does the Shadow Lord's power increase. His army of Omens guard the portals that feed his power into the Earth; they are honored to bear a portion of his glorious might into this new domain. Ending You have defeated the Shadow Lord! Gargos' body cannot contain the life forces he has stolen from the other Shadow Lords and they fly from him, seeking new bodies to inhabit. Embrace the energy, for you have earned it. Character-Specific Cutscenes Jago - before fighting Shadow Jago Jago arrives at the temple, this place that holds so many powerful memories. Here he learned to train his body and his mind, but he has been put on a crooked path. The Tiger Spirit was an illusion, a tool of Gargos. He sees his shadow self... is this a dream, or a reality? It makes no difference. He must fight the manifestation either way. Sabrewulf - after fighting Mimic Maya The Maya Mimic will make an excellent specimen for Kan-Ra, and the sorcerer rewards Sabrewulf with a rare relic. Sabrewulf feels a stabbing pain in his throat... what has Kan-Ra done? He has returned Sabrewulf's ability to speak. Fulgore - after fighting Thunder Fulgore is about to deliver the death-blow on Thunder when something strange happens. An error. A glitch. It will be repaired. It will be reprogrammed... but will the fleeting memory remain, like a virus? Kan-Ra - before fighting Kim Wu The sorcerer goads Kim Wu, telling her that the Dragon Spirit will abandon her when she dies, just as it has done for generations in her family. He offers her an ancient relic that will grant her eternal life in exchange for giving up the Astral being, but Kim Wu says she'd rather die a hundred deaths than live a life as long and as foul as Kan-Ra's. He tells her: "I only have to kill you once." Hisako - before fighting Omen Hisako has never seen this region of the Astral Plane. She bristles at being yanked here against her will like a puppet. The hated Omen... he offers her a great boon if she will grovel at the feet of his overlord. His master has the power to give her back her corporeal form, the teenage girl murdered so long ago. Hisako remembers that brave child... but she is dead and gone. Only her fury lingers on. Kim Wu - after fighting Hisako Hisako is impressed by Kim's bravery - she has passed the challenge. The younger fighter tells her she usually aces tests, but Hisako replies that she will need far more courage to face Gargos, and she'll need more allies than just a ghost. - before fighting Mimic Aganos Tusk: the immortal swordsman. Kim says that she is going to fight Gargos and she needs his help - Tusk wonders what a mere girl can do against a demigod. Kim will have to show him. - before fighting Mimic Sadira She has found Jago and Orchid, under some sort of paralyzing spell. Kim must face these shadow creatures by herself, but she is not completely alone, and her true power is growing. - before fighting Tusk Kim tells Tusk that he must keep fighting Gargos - he tells her that Gargos is the only one who can grant him death, and he is sick of this life. She demands to know if his own salvation is more important than the fate of billions. If she beats him, he will rejoin her quest. If she falls... then the Earth falls. Tusk - before fighting Mimic Thunder Tusk: the mighty immortal swordsman who can't remember his past. He seeks an end to this endless life... a shadow-born Mimic. "Lord Gargos sent me to find you," the Mimic tells him. Tusk does not like being found. - before fighting Mimic Aganos It's the woman from Tusk's vision in Warg-gram. She says that she is going to battle Gargos and needs his help. He asks what a mere stripling can do against a demigod... this one has the heart of a shieldmaiden. Tusk likes her. - after fighting Shadow Jago Tusk demands information about the Shadow Lord. Kan-Ra knows this: Tusk and Gargos were born as equals. Now Gargos needs his blade, Warg-ram - then he will be omnipotent, and can even slay an immortal. - before fighting Kim Wu Kim tells Tusk that he must keep fighting Gargos, but the Shadow Lord is the only one who can set him free. She asks if his own salvation is more important than the fate of billions... Tusk will remain Tusk so that Gargos can be cast into oblivion. Mira - before fighting Maya Mira has returned home, but now she is one of the monsters that her family had hunted. Maya is shocked to see her sister alive, and she has changed. Mira tells her that it is time to embrace the darkness - Maya offers to drag her back into the light. - after fighting Mimic Tusk Mira senses the power of the shadow energy inside the fallen Mimic. She summons all of her strength and draws the energy to her. She feels it surging through her core! The power... it is like drinking the blood of the gods. - before fighting Mimic Mira The Mimic welcomes Mira to the realm of Gargos. The Shadow Lord will give her untold powers, but first she must slaughter her sister. One day perhaps, but now is the time for slaying demons. Gargos - after fighting Gargos Gargos has defeated the doppelganger, Earth's heroes are conquered, and now he has fully mastered the Astral Plane. Now what should he do? Rage on, Shadow Lord. Eyedol - after fighting Gargos Eyedol revels in his victory. The Shadow Lord is still alive, but powerless. But what should Eyedol do with his hated enemy now? Gargos will serve as Eyedol's punching bag for eternity. Trivia * It is possible to break Ultra's and Ultimate if the player has a Ram Guardian. * Eyedol was the only character not available in Shadow Lords Mode from the beginning. The quest missions to unlock him and his story quest in Shadow Lords were added in a later patch, on November 22, 2016. * Gargos and Eyedol are the only characters with unique endings in Shadow Lords Mode. * The Arena of Judgment is the only stage that is completely absent from this mode. ** It could be understandable since the stage was designed for guest character Arbiter, and guest characters are non-canon to the main storyline. *** Because of this, although Arbiter, Rash and General RAAM are playable in Shadow Lords, they have no cutscenes, no story missions and they never appear as opponents. * Sadira, Spinal, Fulgore, Riptor, Omen, Cinder, Shadow Jago and Mira don't appear with the other Alliance members in the general ending even if one of them is the team member that defeats Gargos, despite being canon characters to the main storyline. Videos Killer Instinct - Shadow Lords - Guardians Tutorial Fractured Ward Killer Instinct - Shadow Lords - Guardians Tutorial Ram Killer Instinct - Shadow Lords - Guardians Tutorial Snake Killer Instinct - Shadow Lords - Guardians Tutorial Vampire Bat Killer Instinct - Shadow Lords - Guardians Tutorial Exemplar Killer Instinct - Shadow Lords - Guardians Tutorial Watcher Gallery Killer-instinct-season-3-shadow-lords-mode.jpg|Leaked early image of Shadow Lords from shoryuken.com Shadow-Lords-Screen-01.jpg|Assembling a team Shadow lords 2.jpg|Shadow Lords preview Astral Plane Jago vs Omen.JPG|Jago vs an Omen in Shadow Lords Mode KIShadowLordsWallpaper.jpg Posters Kan-RaShadowLords.jpg|Kan-Ra poster ARIAShadowLords.jpg|ARIA poster GargosShadowLords.jpg|Gargos poster External links 16 Minutes of Killer Instinct's Shadow Lords's Game Mode - video exhibition at Gamescon 2016 Category:Killer Instinct 2013